Method and apparatus for producing a reinforcement mesh

ABSTRACT

A method and an apparatus for producing a reinforcement mesh. Here, a reinforcement fiber strand is firstly saturated with a resin (H) and cured to form a cured, fiber-reinforced strand material. The strand material present as an endless material is then cut lengthwise into bars, which are then used as longitudinal bars or transverse bars for forming the reinforcement mesh. A connecting material is used at each intersection point between a longitudinal bar and a transverse bar and is dispensed in liquid form at the intersection point or is liquefied and then cured at the intersection point. A fixed connection is thus created between the longitudinal bars and the transverse bars at the intersection points. Between the intersection points, the longitudinal bars and the transverse bars have portions that are free of connecting material.

RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims the benefit of European Patent Application No.17179409.2, filed Jul. 3, 2017, the contents of which are incorporatedherein by reference as if fully rewritten herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for producing areinforcement mesh. The reinforcement mesh can be used for example forincorporation in a concrete body or a cement matrix.

BACKGROUND

In the construction sector, steel-reinforced component parts arenowadays used primarily. It has long been known to produce reinforcementmeshes or steel mesh mats by welding steel bars to one another.

It is also known from vehicle construction to produce component parts,such as hull parts of boats or aircraft or body parts, fromfiber-reinforced composite materials. For this purpose, what are knownas rovings or fiber mats formed from rovings are incorporated in aplastics matrix.

In order to produce reinforcements or meshes of this kind, variousmethods have been proposed. DE 199 13 479 C1 describes the production ofa geogrid with intersecting thermoplastic bars which are welded to oneanother.

In the case of the reinforcement mesh or reinforcement component partknown from DE 10 2005 043 386 A1, the bars are mechanically connected toone another at the intersection points by means of connecting fibers, inparticular glass fibers, more specifically prior to saturation withresin.

RU 201300087 A1 describes the production of a reinforcement mesh,wherein the longitudinal bars are provided with a spiral winding, inwhich the transverse bars are incorporated at the intersection points.

A method for producing a fabric with Leno weave is known from EP 0 387968 A1. This fabric can then be incorporated in a corresponding plasticsmatrix to form the fiber-reinforced composite materials.

JP 2013-103642 A discloses a method for producing a mesh body, in whichthe longitudinal elements are saturated with a resin, and transverseelements saturated with a resin are then arranged on said longitudinalelements. The resultant mesh structure is connected at the intersectionpoints in that the resin with which the longitudinal and transverseelements are saturated is cured. Similar methods are also known forexample from JP 2013-223995 A, RU 2009 121 291 A and US 2016/0102457 A1.

In the case of the method known from RU 2394135 C1, rovings are suppliedto a bath and are saturated with resin. Excess resin is then pressed outfrom the saturated rovings. Transverse elements are laid on thesaturated strands. By applying pressure and heat, the longitudinalelements are connected to the transverse elements. A similar method isalso described in RU 2404892 C1.

A further production method for a reinforcement mesh provides conveyinglongitudinal elements parallel to one another in a mold and arranging atransverse element transversely thereto through the mold. The moldsurrounds the intersection points between the longitudinal elements andthe transverse element, and connecting material is supplied to the mold.The transverse element and the longitudinal elements are connected toone another at the intersection points (RU 2548358 C2).

In the method known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,632,309 B1, a fabric isimpregnated with resin, placed in a mold, and cured in order to producea reinforcement mesh. The fabric can thus be cured in differentthree-dimensional designs and forms a three-dimensional body.

Proceeding from the prior art, the object of the present invention is toproduce a reinforcement mesh in such a way that the amount of wastematerial is minimised. In particular, the further processing of theproduced reinforcement mesh shall also be improved.

SUMMARY

This object is achieved by a method and an apparatus having the featuresas described herein.

In the method according to the invention for producing a reinforcementmesh, a reinforcement fiber strand is firstly supplied by means of aconveying device to a saturation station. The reinforcement fiber strandcan also be referred to as a “roving”. The reinforcement fiber strand isformed from one or more filaments and can be embodied in the form of areinforcement yarn. Synthetic fibers and/or natural fibers can be usedas filaments, for example glass fibers of different types (for exampleAR glass fibers), carbon fibers or basalt fibers.

In the saturation station the reinforcement fiber strand is saturatedwith a resin, in particular a thermosetting resin, such as epoxy resin,vinyl ester resin or polyester resin. The reinforcement fiber strand isin particular conveyed continuously through the saturation station, forexample through a bath. Alternatively, the resin could also be appliedto the reinforcement fiber strand in the saturation station by means ofa spraying device or another application device.

At the end of the saturation station, excess resin is removed in astripping device and for example can be fed back to the resin store ofthe saturation station. The amount of resin remaining in thereinforcement fiber strand is sufficient to form a plastics matrix forbinding of the reinforcement fiber strand. The saturated reinforcementfiber strand can be conveyed, preferably by means of the conveyingdevice, from the stripping device to a curing station, where the resinis cured in order to form a cured fiber-reinforced strand material.Alternatively, the resin-saturated reinforcement fiber strand forms anuncured fiber-reinforced strand material after the stripping. This curedor uncured strand material is conveyed further to a cutting station,preferably by means of the conveying device, and is cut up there intobars of appropriate length. In particular, these cured bars can bestored in the meantime without difficulty and do not have to be furtherprocessed immediately. It is preferred if the cutting station iscontrolled in such a way that each bar has a defined length depending onthe desired form of the reinforcement mesh. Here, the lengths of thebars can differ from one another.

Some of the bars are placed side-by-side as longitudinal bars. Thisaction can be performed for example by means of a manipulator device. Aplurality of further bars are placed as transverse bars on thelongitudinal bars, for which purpose the manipulator device can be used.One or more grippers, robots, portal devices or the like can be used asmanipulator device.

For connection of the longitudinal bars to the transverse bars, curableconnecting material is used in an alternative of the method. Saidmaterial is applied exclusively in the region of intersection points, ateach of which a longitudinal bar and a transverse bar cross one anotherand are placed against one another or are already in contact. Thecurable connecting material can be applied to the longitudinal barseither prior to the depositing of the transverse bars or alternativelysubsequently, once the transverse bars have been deposited on thelongitudinal bars. Here, the bars are not provided over their entirelength with the connecting material, but instead merely at or in theregion of the intersection points. Each bar, between two adjacentintersection points, has a portion that is free of curable connectingmaterial. In the regions in which the bars are free of connectingmaterial, the property of the bar remains unchanged, for example itsbending property or deformability. Any impairments to the deformationproperty caused by additional application and curing of the connectingmaterial are avoided in the portions between the intersection points.The produced reinforcement mesh can thus be easily further processed, orany three-dimensional reinforcement bodies can be formed from the bars,wherein the bars can extend not only parallel to a plane (as in the caseof a two-dimensional mesh), but also at right angles or at an incline tothis plane. For example, additional bars can be connected to thereinforcement mesh between the intersection points already provided, forexample again by application of a curable connecting material andsubsequent curing. In this way, for example two produced reinforcementmeshes can also be connected to one another, for example in order toform a T-shaped or an angled reinforcement mesh element or athree-dimensional reinforcement body.

In addition, the required amount of connecting material can be kept assmall as possible.

Once the connecting material has been applied at the intersectionpoints, said material is cured by means of a curing device, so that thetransverse bars are fixedly connected to the longitudinal bars at theintersection points.

Alternatively, the connection between the longitudinal and transversebars can be established without additional connecting material when atleast one of the bars is not yet cured at each intersection point, i.e.consists of an uncured fiber-reinforced strand material. In this case,the bars resting against one another are cured jointly by means of thecuring device, so that the transverse bars are fixedly connected to thelongitudinal bars at the intersection points.

The curing device can be configured similarly to the curing station, forexample by means of a furnace or another heating device. The heating ina furnace can also be provided inductively when the bars containelectrically conductive material, for example when carbon fibers areused. Depending on the way in which the resin or the connecting materialcures, other devices can also be used in the curing station or as acuring device, for example a device for radiating electromagnetic waves,such as light, in particular UV light. Devices for introducingultrasonic waves can also be used.

It is preferred when the saturated reinforcement fiber strand is heldunder tensile stress during the curing. The tensile stress can beapplied by the conveying device which removes the reinforcement fiberstrand from a store, for example unwinds it from a supply roll or reeland pulls it through the saturation station and the curing station. Itcan be advantageous if a braking device is provided in the store of thereinforcement fiber strand, which braking device counteracts the tensileforce of the conveying device in order to hold the reinforcement fiberstrand under a defined tensile stress.

For example, a resin can be used as connecting material. It isadvantageous if the curing property of the resin used as connectingmaterial differs from the curing property of the resin of thelongitudinal bars and transverse bars. A softening of the matrix of thelongitudinal and transverse bars during the curing of the connectingmaterial can thus be prevented. For example, the connecting material cancure at a lower temperature than the resin of the longitudinal andtransverse bars. Alternatively, resins that are cured by differentphysical or chemical processes can also be used. For example, one resincan cure by heat, whereas the other resin cures by irradiation withlight, for example UV light. It is also possible to choose one of theresins in such a way that it cures chemically by application of a curingsubstance, whereas the other resin cures by heat and/or irradiation.These various curing principles can be combined arbitrarily. The curingeffects of the used resins preferably differ sufficiently either inrespect of the physical and/or chemical principle and/or do not have anyoverlapping working ranges (temperature and/or light wavelength, etc.)during the curing.

It is preferred when the reinforcement fiber strand and the cured oruncured fiber-reinforced strand material are conveyed in the form ofendless material as far as the cutting device by means of a commonconveying device. A simple production apparatus can thus be achieved. Inparticular, the conveying device can be arranged after an optionalcuring station and before the cutting station and can exert there anappropriate tensile force onto the fiber-reinforced strand material. Theconveying device can also exert a thrust force onto the curedfiber-reinforced strand material in order to convey it to the cuttingstation.

It is advantageous when a defined amount of the connecting material isapplied by means of a dispensing device to a transverse bar at allintersection points thereof and the transverse bar is then laid on thelongitudinal bars. The connecting material can be applied to theintersection points of the transverse bar at the same time.

In another exemplary embodiment the dispensing device can apply adefined amount of the connecting material to the longitudinal bars atall intersection points, preferably one after the other, wherein thetransverse bars are then laid on the longitudinal bars.

The connecting material preferably has a viscosity such that it adheresto the intersection points as a cohesive connecting material blob orconnecting material drop, without flowing away.

The connecting material can also be applied to an intersection point bymeans of a mold having two or more mold parts. The mold parts cansurround respective intersection points and preferably precisely oneintersection point, so that in the closed mold, from which thecorresponding longitudinal bar and the corresponding transverse barprotrude, the connecting material can be selectively introduced andcured at the intersection point.

In a further preferred embodiment push-on connection parts are used inorder to connect in each case a longitudinal bar and a transverse bar atan intersection point in a preliminary manner so to speak. The push-onconnection part is pushed onto or clipped onto the bars at theintersection point and is held there, in particular in a frictionallyengaged and/or interlocking manner. For example, it can have tworesiliently preloaded limbs, which move away from one anotherresiliently as said push-on connection part is pushed on and whichsurround the associated longitudinal bar or transverse bar in apositively engaged and/or interlocking manner at least partially, oncethe push-on connection part has been pushed on. The push-on connectionpart can therefore have two pairs of limbs of this kind for each one ofthe bars at the intersection point.

Once the connection of the longitudinal bars and the transverse bars hasbeen established by means of the push-on connection parts, a connectingmaterial can be applied optionally to portions of each longitudinal barand each transverse bar in contact with the push-on connection part. Inparticular, a connection means of low viscosity is used for thispurpose, which can flow very easily into remaining very small gapsbetween the surface of the bar in question and the push-on connectionpart. This applied connecting material can then be cured.

An alternative possibility lies in the fact that the dispensing deviceis designed to deliver energy and to input it at the intersection point.Here, a portion of the plastics material of the push-on connection partcan be made flowable and can then be cured again. The plastics materialof the push-on connection parts thus joins to the longitudinal bar ortransverse bar in question. The dispensing device can be designed forexample to introduce heat or ultrasonic waves. The heating can beprovided by induction when the bars and/or the push-on connection partcontain electrically conductive material. The type and amount ofdelivered energy is adapted to the plastics material of the push-onconnection part in such a way that preferably only the plastics materialof the push-on connection part is made liquid or flowable, whereas theresin of the bars remains solid. It is also possible to make both theplastics material of the push-on connection part and the resin of thebars liquid or flowable. Here, some of the plastics material of thepush-on connection part constitutes the connecting material used for theconnection. Here as well it is advantageous if the connecting materialand the resin of the bars have different properties in respect of theircuring or softening, so that the resin of the bars is not damaged by theintroduction of energy, and instead merely the plastics material of thepush-on connection part is affected.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Advantageous embodiments of the invention will become clear from thedependent claims, the description, and the drawings. Preferred exemplaryembodiments of the invention will be explained in detail hereinafterwith reference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic, block diagram-like illustration of anapparatus and a method for producing bars,

FIG. 2 shows a sectional illustration through part of a bar in aperspective view,

FIG. 3 shows a schematic, block diagram-like illustration of a devicefor depositing bars on a support surface,

FIG. 4 shows the bars deposited on the support surface according to FIG.3 in a schematic plan view,

FIG. 5 shows a schematic illustration of a dispensing device fordispensing a connecting material onto a bar,

FIG. 6 shows a schematic illustration of the depositing of a transversebar on longitudinal bars deposited on the support surface,

FIG. 7 shows a schematic illustration of a further exemplary embodimentof a dispensing device for applying connecting material to longitudinalbars deposited on a support surface,

FIG. 8 shows a schematic illustration of the depositing of a transversebar on the longitudinal bars,

FIG. 9 shows a schematic perspective illustration of an exemplaryembodiment of the dispensing device formed of a mold with two mold partsfor dispensing connecting material at an intersection point,

FIG. 10 shows an intersection point between a longitudinal bar and atransverse bar, wherein the bars are connected to one another at theintersection point by means of a push-on connection part,

FIG. 11 shows an exemplary embodiment of a dispensing device fordispensing connecting material between portions of the bars and thepush-on connection part in FIG. 10,

FIG. 12 shows an alternative embodiment of the dispensing device, inwhich a plastics material of the push-on connection part is used asconnecting material and is made flowable by the input of energy,

FIG. 13 shows a schematic plan view of a produced reinforcement meshformed of longitudinal bars and transverse bars,

FIG. 14 shows a schematic basic diagram of a curing device for curingthe connecting material,

FIGS. 15-18 each show a schematic illustration of a component with acement matrix, in which at least one reinforcement mesh is incorporated.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of an apparatus 25 which isdesigned for the production of bars 26 made of fiber-reinforced plastic.The apparatus 25 has a storage device 27, for example at least one reel28. The reinforcement fiber strand 29 is preferably unwound from thereel 28 and supplied to the further processing station. To this end, aconveying device 30 is provided in the exemplary embodiment according toFIG. 1. The conveying device 30 can have one or more rolls or cylindersand/or at least one conveying belt for exerting a tensile force onto thereinforcement fiber strand 29 suitable for removing the reinforcementfiber strand 29.

The reinforcement fiber strand 29 is supplied to a saturation station31. The saturation station 31 can have a plurality of deflection rollsor deflection cylinders 32, around which the reinforcement fiber strandis guided through a bath 33 of liquid resin H and is thus saturated withthe resin H. The resin H adheres to the outer surface of filaments 34,which form the reinforcement fiber strand 29 (FIG. 2).

The saturated reinforcement fiber strand 29 is then supplied to astripping station 36. The stripping station 36 is designed to stripexcess resin H from the saturated reinforcement fiber strand 29. Inaccordance with the example, the stripping station is arrangedvertically above the bath 33, so that the stripped resin H is fed backinto the bath 33, this being illustrated in a heavily schematised mannerin FIG. 1 by the dashed arrow.

After the stripping station 36, the resin H is cured in one embodimentin a curing station 37. Depending on the used resin H, the curing isperformed by a physical and/or chemical process. This is dependent onthe curing property of the resin H. For example, heat and/or UV lightcan act on the resin H in the curing station 37. The energy can beintroduced for example also by induction when the resin H and/or thereinforcement fiber strand 29 contains electrically conductive material.Alternatively or additionally, chemical agents can also be applied tothe saturated reinforcement fiber strand 29 in order to cure the resin Hin the curing station 37.

As a result of the curing of the resin H, a cured, fiber-reinforcedstrand material 38 is created. It is also possible to further processthe resin-saturated reinforcement fiber strand 29 without curing theresin H, i.e. as an uncured, fiber-reinforced strand material 38. Inthis case, the curing station 37 can be spared or the reinforcementfiber strand 29 can be conveyed through the non-operated curing station37 or past the curing station 37.

In accordance with the example, a tensile force is exerted onto thecured or uncured fiber-reinforced strand material 38 by means of theconveying device 30 and thus also acts on the reinforcement fiber strand29 as far as the storage device 27 or reel 28. A removal or conveyanceof the reinforcement fiber strand 29 and of the strand material 38 isthus achieved. The reel 28 or the storage device 27 can optionally beassigned a braking device 39. A tensile force which acts on thereinforcement fiber strand 29 can thus be adjusted in a defined manner,so that the reinforcement fiber strand is held under tensile stressduring the optional curing 37. The braking device 39 can also optionallybe arranged as a separate device before the curing station 37 and forexample can have braked rolls, cylinders, conveying belts or the like,which counteract the removal force of the conveying device 30 andmaintain a tensile stress of the saturated reinforcement fiber strand 29in the curing station 37. The tensile force can be controlled byopen-loop or closed-loop control.

The strand material 38 can also receive thrust forces in its directionof extent in order to be transported on further. It can therefore bemoved on further, through the conveying device 30, to a cutting station40 having a cutting device 41. The cutting device 41 cuts the strandmaterial conveyed as endless material, whereby the bars 26 are formed.In the exemplary embodiment described here, the bars 26 have a circularcross-section (FIG. 2). Alternatively, other cross-sectional shapes canalso be formed, for example polygonal or elliptical cross-sections orother arbitrary cross-sectional shapes that are curved and/or angled inportions. A shaping of this kind can be achieved for example in thecuring station 37 by appropriate shaping means. For example, thesaturated reinforcement fiber strand 29 can be conveyed by suitablyshaped cross-section channels in the curing station 37.

The produced bars 26 are then used to form a reinforcement mesh 45formed of a plurality of longitudinal bars 46 and a plurality oftransverse bars 47.

The longitudinal bars 46 are firstly deposited on a support surface 49by means of a manipulator device 48. Adjacent longitudinal bars 46 arearranged here at a distance dy from one another. The support surface 49is oriented parallel to a plane that is spanned by an x direction and ay direction of a Cartesian coordinate system. In accordance with theexample, the longitudinal bars 46 extend parallel to one another in thex direction. Alternatively, they could also be oriented at an acuteangle, inclined relative to the x direction. The distance dy between twolongitudinal bars 46 can be constant or can vary (FIGS. 3 and 4).

In the exemplary embodiment illustrated schematically in FIG. 3, themanipulator device 48 has a separating unit 50 movable parallel to the ydirection in order to deposit the longitudinal bars 46. The longitudinalbars 46 are deposited one after the other in a funnel-shaped storagecontainer 51. At its lower, tapered region, the funnel-shaped storagecontainer 51 has an opening, which is dimensioned transversely to thedirection of extent of the longitudinal bars 46 in such a way thatmerely one of the longitudinal bars 46 can pass through the opening intoa dispensing shaft 52. The dispensing shaft 52 is closed downwardly andis provided laterally with a slot-like opening 53, through which thelongitudinal bar 46 disposed in the dispensing shaft 52 can be dispensedby means of an actuator 54 and can be deposited onto the support surface49. The actuator 54 for example has a slide 56, which can be actuated bya linear drive 55, for example a fluidically actuatable cylinder, and bymeans of which the longitudinal bar 46 disposed in the dispensing shaft52 can be pushed out from the slot-like opening 53 and can be depositedon the support surface 49.

The separating unit 50 can be moved on the whole parallel to the supportsurface 49, for example along a rail 57, which can be seen schematicallyin FIG. 3. In order to move the separating unit 50, a correspondingdrive (not shown) can be provided.

By means of the storage of a plurality of longitudinal bars 46, agreater number of longitudinal bars 46 can be deposited on the supportsurface 49 very quickly by means of the manipulator device 48 from FIG.3.

Alternatively to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the manipulator device48 can also be formed by a gripping device 60 having gripper fingers 61,as is shown in a heavily schematised manner in FIGS. 5, 6 and 8. Thegripper device 68 can be arranged for example on a multiaxial robot armor on a multiaxial portal or another multiaxial positioning device.

The above-described manipulator device 48 can be used traditionally todeposit the longitudinal bars 46 on the support surface 49 and also todeposit the transverse bars 47 on the longitudinal bars 46. For example,the same gripper device 60 can grasp and deposit both the longitudinalbars 46 and also the transverse bars 47. The manipulator device 48 shownin FIG. 3 can be designed for example such that the separating unit 50is rotatable about an axis extending in the z direction. Bothlongitudinal bars 46 and transverse bars 47 can then be stored in thestorage container 51. Alternatively, two separating units 50 of thiskind can be provided. The separating unit 50 designed to deposit thetransverse bars 47 must be movable at least in the x direction along thesupport surface 49. In all embodiments and in particular when a singleseparating unit 50 is used, this can be embodied such that it is movableboth in the x direction and in the y direction parallel to the supportsurface 49.

The longitudinal bars 46 and the transverse bars 47 are in contact withone another at intersection points 60 (FIGS. 13 and 15). In oneembodiment, a connecting material V is applied in each case in a definedamount to each intersection point 60 with the aid of a dispensing device61. The connecting material V can be dispensed selectively at eachintersection point 60 prior to the transverse bars 47 being deposited onthe longitudinal bars 46 or thereafter. The connecting material V isdispensed in liquid form at each intersection point 60 and is then curedin order to connect the transverse bars 47 to longitudinal bars 46. Theconnecting material V for example can be a resin. The resin used asconnecting means V can differ from the resin H that forms the plasticsmatrix of the bars 26, in particular in respect of the curing andsoftening of the respective resins. It is preferred if both resinsdiffer here. For example, they can be softened and/or cured by differentphysical and/or chemical processes or they can be softened and/or curedby the same physical or chemical processes, wherein the processconditions then differ from one another. The connecting material V canbe liquefied and/or cured selectively, without significantly changingthe state of the resin H, and vice versa. For example, in the case ofcuring as a result of the introduction of heat, the temperature of thecuring of the two resins can be different. In particular, thetemperature for the curing of the resin used as connecting material Vcan be the same as or lower than the temperature for the curing of theresin H used as plastics matrix of the bars 26.

FIGS. 5 and 6 schematically show a possibility for applying theconnecting material V to the transverse bars 47 prior to the transversebars 47 being deposited on the longitudinal bars 46. Here, liquidconnecting material V from a bath comprising liquid connecting materialV is removed from the bath by a plurality of pipes or lines 65 and isapplied in a defined amount to a transverse bar 47. The pipes or lines65 are arranged at a distance from one another, corresponding to thedistance of the longitudinal bars 46 to which the transverse bar 47 inquestion is to be connected. The distances between the pipes or lines 65can be adjusted depending on the transverse bar 47 to which theconnecting material V is to be applied. The transverse bar 47 is forthis purpose positioned by means of a manipulator device 48, and inaccordance with the example by means of a gripping device 60, at theopen ends of the pipes or lines 65 of the dispensing device 63, and theconnecting material V is then applied in a defined amount to anintersection point 60 on the transverse bar 47 by means of thedispensing device 63 through the pipes or lines 65 (FIG. 5). Thetransverse bar 47 is then deposited on the associated longitudinal bars46 by means of the gripping device 60 (FIG. 6). In this way, the meshstructure of the reinforcement mesh 45 can be formed. The connectingmaterial V is then cured with use of a curing device 66 (FIG. 14). Thecuring device 66 can be formed analogously to the above-described curingstation 37 from FIG. 1 and for example can be formed by a heatingdevice. As already explained, the temperature here at the time of curingof the connecting material V is preferably the same as or lower than thetemperature in the curing station 37 during the curing of the resin H.

FIGS. 7 and 8 schematically show a modified process sequence. Thedispensing device 63 here has a metering device 69 movable parallel tothe x-y plane and/or in the z direction. The metering device 69 isdesigned to dispense a defined amount of the liquid connecting materialV at each intersection point 64. The connecting material V is preferablyapplied to the longitudinal bars 46 deposited on the support surface 49.The transverse bars 47 are then deposited by means of the manipulatordevice 48, and in accordance with the example the gripper device 60, onthe intersection points 64 and on the longitudinal bars 46. The meshstructure is then cured, as described above by means of the curingdevice 66, in order to fixedly connect the longitudinal bars 46 and thetransverse bars 47 to one another.

A further possibility for applying the connecting material V is shownschematically in FIG. 9. In this embodiment the dispensing device 63 hasa mold 70 formed of at least two mold parts 71. The two mold parts 71can be closed in a fluid-tight manner around an intersection point 64,at which a longitudinal bar 46 and a transverse bar 47 intersect. Here,a portion of a longitudinal bar 46 and a portion of a transverse bar 47are in each case disposed within the closed mold 70. The mold cavityaround these portions of the bars 46, 47 is larger by a predefinedamount than the cross-section of the respective bars 46, 47. The liquidconnecting material V is introduced into the mold 70 via a feed line 72and encases the portions of the bars 46, 47 disposed in the closed mold70. The connecting material V is then cured within the mold 70 oralternatively outside the mold 70, as described above, by means of thecuring device 66.

In order to form the mesh structure of the reinforcement mesh 45, theconnecting material V can be applied to each intersection point 64 bymeans of a mold 70. The connecting material V can be a resin or anotherplastics material, by means of which the portions of the bars 46, 47 areencapsulated at the intersection point 64.

A further possibility for connecting a longitudinal bar 46 and atransverse bar 47 at an intersection point 64 will be described withreference to FIGS. 10-12. In this example, a push-on connection part 77is provided at each intersection point. The push-on connection part 77is made of plastic and in accordance with the example is formedintegrally. The push-on connection part 77 has a longitudinal part 78,which is associated with the longitudinal bar 46 in question, and atransverse part 79, which is associated with the transverse bar 47 inquestion. In accordance with the example the longitudinal part 78 andthe transverse part 79 are identical. The longitudinal part 78 and thetransverse part 79 have two mutually opposed clamping limbs 80. Theclamping limbs 80 can be deflected resiliently away from one another andbetween their free ends define a slot 81. The width of the slot 81between the two free ends of the clamping limbs 80 is smaller than thedimension of the corresponding longitudinal bar 46 or transverse bar 47.The longitudinal bar 46 or the transverse bar 47 can be moved betweenthe clamping limbs 80 by means of the slot 81. Adjacently to the slot81, the clamping limbs 80 delimit a receiving region, the cross-sectionof which corresponds approximately to the cross-section of thecorresponding bar 46 or 47. The cross-section of the receiving regioncan be selected to be slightly smaller than the outer dimension of thebar in question, so as to provide a clamping effect between the relevantlongitudinal part 78 or transverse part 79 and the portion of therelevant longitudinal bar 46 or transverse bar 47 received in thereceiving region.

In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 10, the bars 46, 47 areprovided with a circular cross-section. The longitudinal part 78 and thetransverse part 79 are each formed by a hollow-cylindrical sleeveprovided with a slot 81 passing fully through said sleeve.

As can be seen in particular in FIGS. 11 and 12, the wall thickness ofthe clamping limbs 80 can decrease in the direction of the slot 81.

The push-on connection parts 77 for example can be firstly pushed ontothe longitudinal bars 46 or alternatively onto the transverse bars 47 atthe relevant intersection points 64. The other bars 47 or 46respectively are then likewise connected to the push-on connection parts77 at the intersection points 64. A positively engaged and/orinterlocking connection is thus created between a longitudinal bar 46and a transverse bar 47 at each intersection point 64.

Two possible variants of the further sequence of the process will now beexplained with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. In the exemplary embodimentshown in FIG. 11 a liquid connecting means V of low viscosity is appliedby means of the dispensing device 63 with the metering device 69 to theportions of the longitudinal bar 46 and of the transverse bar 47 whichextend through the longitudinal part 78 or the transverse part 79. Theconnecting means V, in so doing, flows in remaining gaps and spaces thatremain between the two clamping limbs 80 and the outer surface of theparticular bar 46, 47. Such gaps can also be formed by definedunevennesses on the inner side of the clamping limbs 80. The appliedconnecting means V can then be cured as in the exemplary embodimentsdescribed above, for example by means of the curing device 66.

A further possibility is shown schematically in FIG. 12. There, theplastic of the push-on connection part 77 is at least partially softenedor liquefied. For this purpose, the dispensing device 63 can have anenergy input device 82. The energy input device 82 for example canintroduce ultrasonic waves into the push-on connection part 77 at theintersection point 64 and can guide a welding between the push-onconnection part 77 and the relevant portions of the bars 46, 47 at theintersection point 64. The energy input device 82 can be formedaccordingly as an ultrasound welding device. Here, the connectingmaterial V is obtained or extracted so to speak from the plasticsmaterial of the push-on connection part 77. Some of the plasticsmaterial of the push-non-connection part 77 is thus used as connectingmaterial V.

In a further method variant connecting material V can additionally becompletely spared. Here, at least one of the bars 46, 47, which restagainst one another at an intersection point 64, is not cured. Thereinforcement mesh 45 is then cured as a whole in the curing device 66.The main difference in this method lies in the fact that additionalconnecting material V is spared. Otherwise, the process is performedsimilarly to the illustration according to FIGS. 13 and 14. Here, it ispossible that some of the longitudinal bars 46 or transverse bars 47 arealready cured and are cured again so to speak in the curing device 66,for example are heated again. However, it has been found that nodisadvantageous effects are experienced as a result of this in thealready cured bars 46 and 47. The curing device 66 can otherwise beembodied as described above.

In a further variant of the method the used connecting material V can beidentical to the resin H of the bars 46, 47. The renewed curing of bars46, 47 already cured in order to cure the connecting material V does nothave any disadvantageous effects.

In all methods it must be ensured when using the curing device 66 thatthere is no harmful effect on resin that has already been cured, forexample as a result of thermal breakdown due to excessive temperatures.In the case of thermal curing, either a lower or the same curingtemperature is used in the curing device 66 as for the curing of theresin H of the bars 46, 47.

In all methods a portion of the longitudinal bar 46 and of thetransverse bar 47 that is free of connecting material V remains betweenthe intersection points 64. The connecting material V is appliedselectively to the respective intersection points 64. The properties ofthe bars 46, 47 are thus maintained. For example, the bending propertiesof the bars 46, 47 of the reinforcement mesh 45 are not compromised bythe cured connecting means V.

Besides the saving of the amount of connecting material V, there is inparticular also no waste material of the bars 26. The cutting device 41in the cutting station 40 can be controlled in such a way that, in orderto produce a reinforcement mesh 45 with a desired contour, merely bars26 of the necessary length are produced and then used to form thereinforcement mesh 45. As is shown by way of example in FIG. 13, boththe longitudinal bars 46 and the transverse bars 47 can be of differentlengths at different points of the reinforcement mesh 45. However, it isnot necessary to trim a produced reinforcement mesh 45, thus formingwaste material, and instead bars 26 already in the exact necessarylength are used as longitudinal bars 46 and/or transverse bars 47. Acontrol device of the apparatus 24 can specify the number and length ofthe necessary bars 26, which are then produced accordingly in thecutting station 40 by cutting the strand material 38 to length.

The entire apparatus 25, 63 therefore operates very efficiently.

The reinforcement mesh 45 can be used to produce a component 90, forexample a concrete component. To this end, the reinforcement mesh 45 isincorporated in a matrix, in particular a cement matrix 91 of thecomponent 90. Prior to the incorporation in the cement matrix 91, it isalso possible to connect a number of reinforcement meshes to one anotherby means of the connecting material V (FIG. 17). Any three-dimensionalreinforcement elements or reinforcement bodies formed of individualreinforcement meshes 45 or of a reinforcement mesh 45 with further bars46, 47 connected thereto can also be constructed for incorporation inthe cement matrix 91. A three-dimensional reinforcement body of thiskind can consist of bars 46, 47, which extend parallel to a plane and atleast one bar which extends at an incline or at right angles to thisplane. These bars can be connected to one another at the intersectionpoints as explained above.

The invention relates to a method and an apparatus 25, 48, 63 forproducing a reinforcement mesh 45. Here, a reinforcement fiber strand 29is firstly saturated with a resin H and cured to form a cured,fiber-reinforced strand material 38. The strand material 38 present asan endless material is then cut lengthwise into bars 26, which are thenused as longitudinal bars 46 or transverse bars 47 for forming thereinforcement mesh 45. A connecting material is used at eachintersection point 64 between a longitudinal bar 46 and a transverse bar47 and is dispensed in liquid form at the intersection point 64 or isliquefied and then cured at the intersection point 64. A fixedconnection is thus created between the longitudinal bars 46 and thetransverse bars 47 at the intersection points. Between the intersectionpoints 64, the longitudinal bars 46 and the transverse bars 47 haveportions that are free of connecting material V.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

-   25 apparatus-   25 rod-   27 storage device-   28 reel-   29 reinforcement fiber strand-   30 conveying device-   31 saturation station-   32 deflection roll-   33 bath-   36 stripping station-   37 curing station-   38 strand material-   39 braking device-   40 cutting station-   41 cutting device-   45 reinforcement mesh-   46 longitudinal bar-   47 transverse bar-   48 manipulator device-   49 support surface-   50 separating unit-   51 storage container-   52 dispensing shaft-   53 slot-like opening-   54 actuator-   55 linear drive-   56 slide-   57 rail-   60 gripper device-   61 gripper finger-   63 dispensing device-   64 intersection point-   65 pipe or line-   69 metering device-   70 mold-   71 mold part-   72 feed line-   77 push-on connection part-   78 longitudinal part-   79 transverse part-   80 clamping limb-   81 slot-   90 component-   91 cement matrix-   H resin-   V connecting material-   x spatial direction-   Y spatial direction-   z spatial direction

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for producing a reinforcement mesh(45), the method comprising: feeding a reinforcement fiber strand (29)to a saturation station (31) via a conveying device (30), saturating thereinforcement fiber strand (29) with a resin (H), stripping an excessresin amount of the resin (H) from the saturated reinforcement fiberstrand (29) in a stripping station (36), forming an uncuredfiber-reinforced strand material (38) or curing the resin (H) in acuring station (37) to form a cured fiber-reinforced strand material(38), producing bars (26) by cutting the fiber-reinforced strandmaterial (38) to a length in a cutting station (40), depositing aplurality of the bars (26) side-by-side as longitudinal bars (46) usinga manipulator device (48), depositing another plurality of the bars (26)as transverse bars (47) on the longitudinal bars (46) using themanipulator device (48), connecting the transverse bars (47) and thelongitudinal bars (46) at intersection points (64) thereof by: a)applying with a dispensing device a curable connecting material (V)exclusively to the intersection points (64), at each of which one of thelongitudinal bars (46) and transverse bars (47) come into contact,either after the longitudinal and transverse bars are in contact, orprior to the transverse bars (47) being deposited on the longitudinalbars (46), and curing the connecting material (V) for connection of thetransverse bars (47) to the longitudinal bars (46) at the intersectionpoints (64) when the longitudinal bars (46) and/or transverse bars (47)are already cured, or b) curing the longitudinal bars (46) and/ortransverse bars (47) for connection of the transverse bars (47) to thelongitudinal bars (46) at the intersection points (64) when thelongitudinal bars (46) and/or transverse bars (47) are not yet curedprior to connection thereof.
 2. The method according to claim 1, furthercomprising holding the saturated reinforcement fiber strand (29) undertensile stress during the curing thereof.
 3. The method according toclaim 1, further comprising establishing the connection at theintersection points (64) without additional connecting material duringthe curing of the resin (H) of a longitudinal bar (46) and/or atransverse bar (47), or establishing the connection at the intersectionpoints (64) using a second resin as the connecting material (V), thesecond resin having a curing property different from the resin (H) ofthe longitudinal bars (46) and transverse bars (47).
 4. The methodaccording to claim 3, wherein the connection is established using asecond resin as the connecting material (V), the second resin having acuring property different from the resin (H) of the longitudinal bars(46) and transverse bars (47), further comprising curing the secondresin at a different temperature compared to the resin (H) of thelongitudinal bars (46) and transverse bars (47).
 5. The method accordingto claim 3, wherein the connection is established using a second resinas the connecting material (V), the second resin having a curingproperty different from the resin (H) of the longitudinal bars (46) andtransverse bars (47), further comprising curing the second resin used asconnecting material (V) by supplying heat or by induction, and curingthe resin (H) of the longitudinal bars (46) and transverse bars (47) byirradiation with light or vice versa.
 6. The method according to claim1, further comprising conveying the reinforcement fiber strand (29) andthe strand material (38) as an endless material by a conveying device(30) to the cutting station (40).
 7. The method according to claim 6,wherein the conveying device (30) is arranged after the curing station(37) and the method further comprising exerting a tensile force by theconveying device (30) onto the strand material (38).
 8. The methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising controlling a cutting device(41) of the cutting station (40) to produce a specified number of thebars (26) each of a specified length for a reinforcement mesh (45). 9.The method according to claim 1, further comprising: applying apredetermined amount of the connecting material (V) to a transverse bar(47) on all sides thereof at intersection points (64) using thedispensing device (63), and laying the transverse bar (47) on thelongitudinal bars (46).
 10. The method according to claim 1, furthercomprising: applying a predetermined amount of the connecting material(V) to the longitudinal bars (46) at all intersection points (64) usingthe dispensing device (63), and laying the transverse bars (47) on thelongitudinal bars (46).
 11. The method according to claim 1, wherein thedispensing device (63) has a mold (70) having two mold parts (71), andthe mold parts (71) each surround one of the intersection points (64)once at least one of the transverse bars (47) has been deposited on thelongitudinal bars (46), and wherein the method further comprisesconveying the connecting material (V) into the mold (70), which isclosed around the intersection point (64), and is then cured.
 12. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein at each intersection point (64) apush-on connection part (77) of a plastic material is first connected toone of the longitudinal bars (46) or transverse bars (47) at theintersection point (64) thereof and is then connected to the other ofthe transverse or longitudinal bars (47 or 46) at the intersection point(64) thereof by being pushed in place or pushed on.
 13. The methodaccording to claim 12, wherein, once a connection has been establishedat the intersection point (64) by the push-on connection part (77),introducing the connecting material (V) into gaps between portions ofthe one longitudinal bar (46), the one transverse bar (47), and thepush-on connection part (77), and the connecting material (V) is thencured.
 14. The method according to claim 12, further comprising using atleast a portion of the plastic material of the push-on connection part(77) as connecting material (V), wherein the plastic material is madeflowable by introducing energy by the dispensing device (63) and theplastic material is then cured.
 15. The method according to claim 1,further comprising connecting a reinforcement mesh (45) to at least onefurther bar (45, 46) or to a further reinforcement mesh (45) to form athree-dimensional reinforcement body.